Gadget Resources

By Terry Sullivan

Sony's Alpha DSLR-A100 is the company's first attempt at bringing a digital SLR to market. This camera's design may look familiar, however—it's almost identical to Konica Minolta's 6-megapixel D-SLR, the Maxxum 5D. As many photo enthusiasts know, Sony and Konica Minolta declared an extensive partnership last year, followed by Konica Minolta's surprising departure from the camera and film business. This left Sony with an excellent catalog of proven D-SLR products, including camera bodies, lenses, flashes, and accessories. Still, the question remains whether Sony simply rebranded the 5D or reworked it into a better device. It turns out that Sony did a little of both.

The camera's new features are noteworthy. You'll find a 10.2MP CCD instead of a 6MP sensor, which allows for large prints and gives you more room for cropping photos. Sony also integrated an antidust technology system that uses a special coating on the CCD, combined with an antidust vibration feature similar to the one found on Olympus's Evolt D-SLRs. In short, this keeps your image files spot-free, sparing you from having to remove blemishes in Adobe Photoshop.

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